Recording medium, content recording/reproducing system, content reproducing apparatus, content recording apparatus, and content recoding apparatus

ABSTRACT

A removable recording medium having an area for storing a content and, when attached to a reproducing apparatus, allowing the content recorded in the area to be reproduced is arranged so as to include, separately from the area for storing the content, an area for storing one or more conditions that allow the content to be reproduced by the reproducing apparatus. With this arrangement, by pre-recording on the recording medium, information for allowing the reproducing apparatus to reproduce a content, the recording apparatus can automatically perform processing such as encoding to a content in accordance with the information recorded on the recording medium and then record the content on the recording medium; and the reproducing apparatus can unconditionally reproduce a content recorded on the recording medium.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a removable recording medium, a contentrecording/reproducing system for recording and reproducing a content onand from the recording medium, a content reproducing apparatus, acontent recording apparatus, and a content re-coding apparatus. Thepresent invention particularly relates to a technique for recording acontent so as to be reproduced by different types of content reproducingapparatuses.

BACKGROUND ART

In these years, a high-capacity and compact removable recording mediumhas come to be widely used. An example of such a recording medium is anIC memory card (hereinafter referred to as memory card) that can berandomly accessed, such as a flash memory. Further, also have beendeveloped are recording apparatuses and reproducing apparatuses forrecording and reproducing various types of content on and from thememory card.

In accordance with this, many types of memory cards have been developed.For example, there are now many types of flash memories such asCompactFlush (registered trademark) (CF), Smart Media (registeredtrademark) (SM), memory stick, MultimedeiaCard (MMC), and SecureDigital(SD). Some types of the memory cards comply with a technique forprotecting copyrights, thus facilitating the circulation of digitalcontent.

Such a memory card can be used by being attached to a plurality ofdifferent content recording apparatuses or content reproducingapparatuses. For example, a SD memory card can allow a content to berecorded on and reproduced from the SD memory card when inserted intovarious types of content reproducing apparatuses respectively havingbuilt-in SD card slots. These content reproducing apparatuses include aPC (personal computer), a digital video camera (DVC), a printer, adigital camera, an audio player, an IC recorder, a car audio system, acar navigation system, a portable terminal (such as an e-mail terminal,a portable phone, and a PHS), and a facsimile machine.

A typical conventional recording medium is arranged so that data isrecorded on the recording medium by a recording apparatus and reproducedfrom the memory card by a reproducing apparatus that is a companion tothe recording apparatus. Namely, a reproducing apparatus must bearranged so as to reproduce data recorded by a companion recordingapparatus. For example, data recorded on a video tape by a videocassette recorder can be reproduced by any video cassette recorder.

However, since some devices such as digital camera now employ differentencoding systems according to types of the device, there are some caseswhere a content cannot be reproduced by a digital camera whose type isdifferent from that of a digital camera that recorded the content.

In order to solve the foregoing problems, Japanese Unexamined PatentPublication No. 2000-341629 (Tokukai 2000-341629; published on Dec. 8,2000), for example, suggests a certain technique. In this technique, ina case where data taken by a digital camera (DA) is recorded on arecording medium (A) and then copied to a recording medium (B) using adigital camera (DB) whose type is different from that of the digitalcamera (DA), only data that is reproducible by the digital camera (DB)is selected from the data recorded on the recording medium (A) andcopied to the recording medium (B).

Namely, in the technique described in Tokukai 2000-341629, uniqueinformation of the manufacturer is recorded in an area of header andmanufacturer information of the image data that is taken by the digitalcamera (DA), as shown in FIG. 20(a). The digital camera (DB) reads outthe unique information from the recording medium (A) so as to judgewhether or not the image data can be reproduced by the digital camera(DB). Then, only image data that can be reproduced by the digital camera(DB) is automatically selected from the image data and copied to therecording medium (B).

Further, Japanese Patent No. 3152903 (published on Dec. 4, 1998)suggests a technique used in a digital camera complying with a pluralityof decoding systems. In this technique, control information (such asencoding system and shooting condition) with respect to each image inthe image data that is recorded on a recording medium is read so that adecoding system corresponding to encoded data of the images recorded onthe recording medium is selected before the image data is reproduced.

In other words, the arrangement described in Japanese Patent No. 3152903is provided with a control section for reading the control information,such as encoding system, which is added to the image data recorded onthe recording medium as shown in FIG. 20(b). The control section selectsfrom a plurality of built-in decoding devices of the digital camera, adecoding device corresponding to an encoding system of the encoded data,so as to reproduce the image data.

Further, as also shown in FIG. 19, a current memory card can allow datato be recorded on and reproduced from the memory card when inserted intoany device having a corresponding built-in card slot, such as both a DVCand a facsimile machine which have completely different uses from eachother, for example, other than the digital camera.

In this example, it is assumed that the DVC records an image. If, inadvance, a taken image is intended to be sent a desired person via thefacsimile machine, the DVC records the image using a still image modeand using a selected encoding system that allows the facsimile machineto reproduce the image. Here, by recording encoded data of the takenimage on the memory card and inserting the memory card into thefacsimile machine, it is possible to allow the facsimile machine toreproduce the encoded data, so as to send the taken image to the desiredperson.

However, in the cases as described above, before taking the image, theuser is required to know and designate the type (such as moving image,still image, sound, audio, and text) and encoding system of content thatthe reproducing apparatus can reproduce.

Further, even if two devices, such as a portable phone and a DVC bothcapable of handling moving images, can handle moving images and complywith the same encoding method, the two devices may differ from eachother in terms of conditions including a processing capability such as aimage size, bit rate, and frame rate, as well as the number of mountedencoding tools. Thus, if moving images taken by the DVC is to bereproduced by a portable phone having a limited processing capability,it is necessary to designate encoding conditions in accordance with theprocessing capability of the reproducing apparatus (portable phone).

In order to guarantee compatibility between different types of devices,the MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 standards employ a concept of profile and level,and compatibility mode is defined in the standard for SD card. However,the compatibility defined here is such that a device supporting a highprofile, level, or mode must reproduce a content complying with a lowerprofile, level, or mode.

Therefore if a profile, level, or mode of the recording apparatus ishigher than that of the reproducing apparatus, it is necessary to encodeand record a content in accordance with the profile, level, or mode ofthe reproducing apparatus so as to allow the reproducing apparatus toreproduce the recorded content. However, it is difficult for the user toknow all the profile, level, or mode which is defined in a plurality oftypes.

Further, the two conventional techniques as described above areinconvenient because it is not possible to know whether or not thecontent recorded on the memory card can be reproduced by a reproducingapparatus until the memory card is actually inserted into thereproducing apparatus.

In view of the foregoing problems, the present invention has anobjective to provide a content recording/reproducing system, a contentreproducing apparatus, a content recording apparatus, and a contentre-coding apparatus which are capable of reproducing a content recordedon a recording medium without requiring the user to designate a type ofcontent, an encoding method of content, an encoding parameter, or thelike.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

A removable recording medium of a first invention of the presentapplication having an area for storing a content and, when attached to areproducing apparatus, allowing the content recorded in the area to bereproduced is arranged so as to include, separately from the area forstoring the content, an area for storing one or more conditions thatallow the content to be reproduced by the reproducing apparatus.

Further, the recording apparatus is arranged so that a plurality of thereproducing conditions are registered in the area for storing the one ormore conditions that allow the content to be reproduced by thereproducing apparatus; and a plurality of contents respectivelycorresponding to the plurality of the reproducing conditions arerecorded in the area for storing the content.

The recording medium is arranged so as to include an area for recordinginformation indicating which condition a recording apparatus shouldrefer to from the one or more conditions that allow the content to bereproduced by the reproducing apparatus.

The recording medium is arranged so that the information indicatingwhich condition the recording apparatus should refer to indicates one ofthe one or more conditions that is most recently registered on therecording medium.

The recording medium is arranged so that the one or more conditions thatallow the content to be reproduced by the reproducing apparatus includeat least a type of a content to be reproduced.

The recording medium is arranged so that the one or more conditions thatallow the content to be reproduced by the reproducing apparatus includeat least an encoding system of a content to be reproduced.

The recording medium is arranged so that the one or more conditions thatallow the content to be reproduced by the reproducing apparatus includeat least a processing capability of the reproducing apparatus.

A content recording apparatus of a second invention of the presentapplication encoding a content and recording the content on a removablerecording medium is arranged so as to include a section for reading outbefore recording the content, one or more conditions that allow thecontent to be reproduced, the one or more conditions beingpre-registered on the recording medium; and a section for setting one ormore encoding conditions of encoding the content in accordance with theread out one or more conditions.

The content recording apparatus is arranged so as to further include asection for re-coding in accordance with the set one or more conditionsof encoding the content, a received content into an encoded contentreproducible by a reproducing apparatus, if the received content hasbeen already encoded.

The content recording apparatus is arranged so that, if a plurality ofreproducing conditions as the one or more conditions that allow thecontent to be reproduced are registered on the recording medium, one ofthe plurality of registered reproducing conditions is selected, and theone or more encoding conditions are set so as to correspond the selectedone of the plurality of reproducing conditions.

The content recording apparatus is arranged so that, if a plurality ofreproducing conditions as the one or more conditions that allow thecontent to be reproduced are registered on the recording medium, the oneor more encoding conditions are set so as to correspond to the pluralityof registered reproducing conditions.

The content recording apparatus is arranged so that, if a plurality ofreproducing conditions as the one or more conditions that allow thecontent to be reproduced are registered on the recording medium, one ormore encoding conditions that are employable by the content recordingapparatus are selected from the one or more encoding conditions that areset in accordance with the plurality of registered reproducingconditions, and the content is encoded and recorded in accordance withthe selected one or more encoding conditions.

The content recording apparatus is arranged so that the one or moreconditions of encoding the content are determined in accordance withinformation indicating which one or more conditions the contentrecording apparatus should refer to from the one or more conditions thatallow the content to be reproduced which are pre-registered on therecording medium.

A content reproducing apparatus of a third invention of the presentapplication reading out a content recorded on a removable recordingmedium and reproducing the content after applying predetermined signalprocessing to the content is arranged so as to include a section forstoring a condition that allows the content to be reproduced by thecontent reproducing apparatus; and a section for registering thecondition on the recording medium.

The content reproducing apparatus is arranged so that the contentreproducing apparatus records on the recording medium when registeringon the recording medium the reproducing condition that allows thecontent to be reproduced by the content reproducing apparatus,information indicating whether or not the reproducing condition is acondition that a recording apparatus should refer to.

In the present invention, the recording apparatus automatically readsout information pre-written onto the recording medium, the informationindicating a type of content, an encoding system of content, areproducing capability, etc., that can be handled by the reproducingapparatus; and then sets an encoding parameter, etc., in accordance withthe read out information. With this, the user does not need to designatea type, an encoding system, an encoding parameter, etc., of content, andthe reproducing apparatus can surely reproduce in a normal manner, anycontent recorded on the recording medium.

Further, in the present invention, since the recording apparatus readsthe information stored in the recording medium, the recording apparatuscan know the reproducing capability of the reproducing apparatus inadvance. With this, by re-coding an existing content (encoded data)using an encoding system and encoding parameter that can be handled bythe reproducing apparatus, the recording apparatus can record on therecording medium, a content that can be reproduced by the desiredreproducing apparatus.

Further, in the present invention, even if there are a plurality ofreproducing apparatuses, multiple pieces of the information respectivelycorresponding to the reproducing apparatuses may be registered on therecording medium, and an content storage area in the recording mediummay be arranged to have a plurality of directories respectivelycorresponding to the reproducing apparatuses. With this, it is possibleto record on the recording medium, a content that can be reproduced by adesired one of the reproducing apparatuses. Further, the user can easilyselect a reproducing apparatus by selecting from a list of choices ofthe reproducing apparatuses, for example.

A content recording apparatus of a fourth embodiment of the presentapplication encoding a content and recording the content on a removablerecording medium is arranged so as to include a section for reading outbefore the content recording apparatus records the content, a directoryname created on the recording medium; and a section for setting inaccordance with the read out directory name, a condition of encoding thecontent.

The directory name is a name with which the reproducing apparatus can bespecified. By reading the directory name, the recording apparatus canspecify the reproducing apparatus. By specifying the reproducingapparatus, the recording apparatus can select an encoding system thatcan be handled by the reproducing apparatus, and then encode thecontent.

Namely, the recording apparatus specifies the reproducing apparatusbased on a directory name created on the recording medium, sets anencoding parameter corresponding to the specified reproducing apparatus,and records encoded data in a directory having the directory name. Withthis, the user does not need to designate the encoding system andencoding parameter of content, etc., and the reproducing apparatus cansurely reproduce in a normal manner, any content recorded in thedirectory on the recording medium.

A content recording apparatus of a fifth invention of the presentapplication encoding a content and recording the content on a removablerecording medium is arranged so as to include a section for reading outbefore the content recording apparatus records the content, a contentfile name recorded on the recording medium; and a section for setting inaccordance with the read out file name, a condition of encoding thecontent.

The file name is a name with which the reproducing apparatus can bespecified. By reading the file name, the recording apparatus can specifythe reproducing apparatus. By specifying the reproducing apparatus, therecording apparatus can select an encoding system that can be handled bythe reproducing apparatus, and then encode the content.

Namely, the recording apparatus specifies the reproducing apparatusbased on a content file name created on the recording medium, and setsan encoding parameter corresponding to the specified reproducingapparatus. With this, the user does not need to designate the encodingsystem and encoding parameter of content, etc., and the reproducingapparatus can surely reproduce in a normal manner, any content recordedon the recording medium.

A content recording apparatus of a sixth invention of the presentapplication downloading a content via a communications network andrecording the content on a removable recording medium is arranged so asto include a section for reading out from the recording medium beforethe content recording apparatus downloads the content, a pre-registeredcondition that allows the content to be reproduced; and a section forsetting in accordance with the read out condition, a condition ofdownloading the content.

With this arrangement, the recording apparatus automatically reads outinformation pre-written onto the recording medium, the informationindicating a type of content, an encoding system of content, areproducing capability, etc., that can be handled by the reproducingapparatus; and then downloads in accordance with the read outinformation, a content that conforms to the information. With this, theuser does not need to designate a type, an encoding system, an encodingparameter, etc., of content, and the reproducing apparatus can surelyreproduce in a normal manner, any content recorded on the recordingmedium.

A content recording/reproducing system of a seventh invention of thepresent application, including a content recording apparatus forrecording a content on a removable recording medium, and a contentreproducing apparatus for reproducing the content recorded on therecording medium, is arranged so that the content reproducing apparatusrecords on the recording medium, capability information regarding acontent reproducing capability of the content reproducing apparatus; andthe content recording apparatus analyzes the capability informationrecorded on the recording medium, and records on the recording medium,only a content that does not exceed the content reproducing capabilityof the content reproducing apparatus.

A content reproducing apparatus of an eighth invention of the presentapplication for reproducing a content recorded on a recording medium isarranged so as to include a reproducing capability storing section forstoring capability information regarding a content reproducingcapability of the content reproducing apparatus; a capabilityinformation recording section for recording on the recording medium, thecapability information as a capability information file; and a filemanagement section for recording on the recording medium, managementinformation which associates the capability information file with acontent.

The content reproducing apparatus is arranged so that the filemanagement section includes a capability information searching sectionfor searching for a capability information file recorded on therecording medium; a capability information retrieving section forretrieving capability information in the capability information filethat is searched for; and a capability information comparing section forcomparing (A) the capability information of the content reproducingapparatus, which is stored in the reproducing capability storingsection, with (B) the capability information retrieved by the capabilityinformation retrieving section, the file management section recording tothe capability information file recorded on the recording medium, aportion of the capability information (A) that is not recorded on therecording medium, so as to update the management information.

The content reproducing apparatus is arranged so that the filemanagement section searches for the capability information file of thecontent reproducing apparatus from capability information filespre-recorded on the recording medium; and, with reference to themanagement information pre-recorded on the recording medium, selectingand reproducing the content associated with the capability informationfile that is searched for.

The content reproducing apparatus is arranged so that the capabilityinformation recording section records as the capability information inthe capability information file, a type of the content reproducingapparatus.

The content reproducing apparatus is arranged so as to include areproducibility judgment section for judging whether or not a contentpre-recorded on the recording medium is reproducible by the contentreproducing apparatus, the capability information recording sectionrecording to the capability information file, a judgment result obtainedby the reproducibility judgment section as the capability information ofthe content reproducing apparatus.

A content recording apparatus of a ninth invention of the presentapplication for accessing a recording medium and recording a content onthe recording medium is arranged so as to include a file managementsection for, in accordance with management information pre-recorded onthe recording medium, searching for a plurality of capabilityinformation files pre-recorded on the recording medium; a capabilityinformation selecting section for selecting one of the plurality ofcapability information files; a capability information reading outsection for reading out from the selected one of the plurality ofcapability information files, capability information regarding a contentreproducing capability of a content reproducing apparatus that recordedthe selected one of the plurality of capability information files; and aparameter setting section for setting a parameter to be used by thecontent recording apparatus in recording the content, the contentrecording apparatus creating only a content that does not exceed thecontent reproducing capability of the content reproducing apparatus.

The content recording apparatus is arranged so that the file managementsection records on the recording medium in accordance with themanagement information pre-recorded on the recording medium, the contentcreated by the content recording apparatus so as to be associated withthe one of the plurality of capability information files that isselected by the capability information selecting section.

The content recording apparatus is arranged so that the capabilityinformation selecting section reads out content reproducing apparatustypes respectively from the plurality of capability information filesthat are searched for by the file management section, and selects theone of the plurality of capability information files so as to correspondto the content reproducing apparatus that is specified.

A content re-coding apparatus of a tenth invention of the presentapplication for accessing a recording medium and re-coding a content isarranged so as to include a file management section for, in accordancewith management information pre-recorded on the recording medium,searching for capability information files pre-recorded on the recordingmedium; a capability information selecting section for selecting one ofthe capability information files; a capability information reading outsection for reading out from the selected one of the capabilityinformation files, capability information regarding a contentreproducing capability of a content reproducing apparatus; and aparameter setting section for setting a parameter to be used by therecording apparatus in recording the content, the content re-codingapparatus creating only a content that does not exceed the contentreproducing capability of the content reproducing apparatus thatrecorded the selected one of the capability information files.

The content re-coding apparatus is arranged so that the contentre-coding apparatus reads out judgment results as to contentreproducibility respectively from the capability information filespre-recorded on the recording medium; and selects as a content to bere-coded from contents pre-recorded on the recording medium, a contentthat is not reproducible by the content reproducing apparatus thatrecorded the selected one of the capability information files.

With the content recording/reproducing system, content reproducingapparatus, content recording apparatus, and content re-coding apparatusin accordance with the present invention, the content recordingapparatus automatically reads out information pre-written onto thememory card, the information indicating a type of content, an encodingsystem of content, a reproducing capability, etc., that can be handledby the reproducing apparatus; and then sets an encoding parameter, etc.,in accordance with the read out information. With this, the user doesnot need to designate a type, an encoding system, an encoding parameter,etc., of content, and the content reproducing apparatus can surelyreproduce in a normal manner, any content recorded on the memory card.

Further, since the content recording apparatus reads the informationstored in the memory card, the content recording apparatus can know thereproducing capability of the content reproducing apparatus in advance.With this, by re-coding an existing content (encoded data) using anencoding system and encoding parameter that can be handled by thereproducing apparatus, the recording apparatus can record on the memorycard, a content that can be reproduced by the desired reproducingapparatus.

Further, even if there are a plurality of content reproducingapparatuses, multiple pieces of the information respectivelycorresponding to the content reproducing apparatuses may be registeredon the memory card, and an content storage area in the memory card maybe arranged to have a plurality of directories respectivelycorresponding to the content reproducing apparatuses. With this, it ispossible to record on the memory card, a content that can be reproducedby a desired one of the content reproducing apparatuses. Further, theuser can easily select a reproducing apparatus by selecting from a listof choices of the content reproducing apparatuses, for example.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of theinvention, reference should be made to the ensuing detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a memory card in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a reproducing apparatusin accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a program showing an example of a capability table.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a recording apparatus inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of a recording apparatus inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of (i) informationof the capability table and (ii) contents which are recorded on thememory card in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a memory card in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of a recording apparatus inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a contentreproducing apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing an example of file managementinformation (directory information) on the memory card.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a control sectionof the content reproducing apparatus in detail.

FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing an example a list display ofcapability tables.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a content recordingapparatus.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a control sectionof the content recording apparatus in detail.

FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a list displayof capability tables.

FIG. 16 is a diagram schematically showing a directory structure of themanagement information.

FIG. 17 is a diagram schematically showing an example of display oftypes of content reproducing apparatuses.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a content recordingapparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of devices that use a currentmemory card in recording and reproducing.

FIGS. 20(a) and 20(b) are diagrams showing conventional formats forrecording content.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[First Embodiment]

The following will explain an embodiment of the present invention withreference to the drawings. Note that, the present invention is notlimited to this.

FIG. 1 shows a memory card (recording medium) used in First Embodiment.A memory card 101 is provided with a capability information managementarea 103 which records information of a capability table to be describedlater; and a content storage area 102 which stores encoded data(content) created by a recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 shows a reproducing apparatus 210 in First Embodiment. FIG. 2shows a card slot 204 to which the memory card 101 is attached, acontrol section 209 which reads out a user-designated content from thecontent storage area 102 of the memory card 101 and supplies the readout content to decoding devices 205 and 206.

The decoding devices 205 and 206 (respectively for different contents orin different systems) decode the encoding content read out from thememory card 101. A reproducing capability storing section 207 storesreproducing conditions that allow a content to be reproduced by thereproducing apparatus 210. A display and reproduction section 208reproduces and displays the content decoded by the decoding devices 205and 206.

Note that, First Embodiment describes the example where the reproducingapparatus 210 includes the two types of different decoding devices 205and 206, but the type of decoding devices in the reproducing apparatus210 is not limited to this.

The information of the capability table is stored in the reproducingcapability storing section 207 of the reproducing apparatus 210 shown inFIG. 2, and indicates a reproducing capability of the reproducingapparatus. The information is written from the reproducing capabilitystoring section 207 into the capability information management area 103of the memory card 101 when the memory card 101 is inserted into thereproducing apparatus 210.

Alternatively, the above-described operation may be omitted if thememory card 101 is a dedicated card whose capability informationmanagement area 103 has already recorded capability data. Such adedicated card can indicate the reproducing capability of thereproducing apparatus using not only the capability table or ageneral-purpose profile, level, or mode, but also a mode unique to thereproducing apparatus.

The information of the capability table will be concretely explained.The capability table records information such as the name (type name) ofthe reproducing apparatus, the type of reproducible content (such asaudio, sound, still image, moving image, and text), the reproducingcapability (such as encoding system, size, bit rate, and samplingfrequency). Table 1 shows an example of entries that can be recorded inthe capability table. TABLE 1 ENTRIES RECORDED IN CAPABILITY TABLE NAMEOF REPRODUCING APPARATUS DVC, DIGITAL CAMERA, TV, PC TYPE OF CONTENTAUDIO, MOVING IMAGE, STILL IMAGE, SOUND, TEXT REPRODUCING AUDIO ENCODINGAAC/MP3/WMA/ CAPABILITY SYSTEM G.726/WAVE SAMPLING FREQUENCY BIT RATEMOVING ENCODING MPEG-4/ IMAGE SYSTEM MPEG-2/ Motion- JPEG BIT RATE SIZEPROFILE AND LEVEL STILL ENCODING JPEG(Exif)/ IMAGE SYSTEM BMP/GIF/ PNGSIZE PIXEL 4:2:0/4:2:2/ SAMPLING 4:4:4 SOUND ENCODING G.726/AMR SYSTEMSAMPLING FREQUENCY BIT RATE TEXT

Further, Table 2 shows an example of the capability table recorded inthe capability information management area 103 when the presentinvention is applied to a digital camera. TABLE 2 EXAMPLE OF CAPABILITYTABLE NAME OF REPRODUCING APPARATUS DIGITAL CAMERA TYPE OF CONTENT STILLIMAGE, SOUND REPRODUCING STILL ENCODING JPEG(Exif)/ CAPABILITY IMAGESYSTEM BMP SIZE 160 × 120 TO 2560 × 1920 PIXEL 4:2:0/4:2:2 SAMPLINGSOUND ENCODING G.726 SYSTEM SAMPLING 8 kHz FREQUENCY BIT RATE 16 kbps

The capability table may record the profile, level (such as MP@ML), ormode as mentioned earlier, instead of recording the reproducingcapability such as encoding system and size as shown in Table 2.

If the entries in Table 2 are to be used by a digital camera as thereproducing apparatus 210 shown in FIG. 2, the entries of Table 2 areautomatically written from the reproducing capability storage area 207into the capability information management area 103 of the memory card101 when the memory card 101 is inserted into the card slot 204 of thereproducing apparatus (digital camera) 210.

Further, FIG. 3 shows a capability table in program form as a furtherexample. The capability table indicated by the program of FIG. 3sequentially records a parameter name (such as size, pixel sampling,sampling frequency, and bit rate) in association with correspondingreproducible value(s). The number following CONTENT indicates the numberof types of reproducible content. FIG. 3 shows a case where two types ofcontents are reproducible. In similar manners, the size, pixel sampling,sampling frequency, and bit rate are respectively shown. If a programrepresenting the capability table uses a format that records a parametername, the number of types of the parameter, and parameter value(s) in aset, as shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to update the capability tablesuch that a parameter “bit rate” is easily added later under ENCODINGSYSTEM of STILL IMAGE, for example.

Note that, if a reproducible parameter value is within a certain range,as in the capability table shown in Table 2, a parameter value that canbe recorded by a recording apparatus may be selected appropriately fromthe reproducible parameter value. Further, if there are a plurality ofreproducible parameter values, as in the capability table shown in FIG.3, a value listed earlier may be selected by priority.

With respect to the size, for example, the reproducible parameter valuesmay be checked sequentially from SUXGA until a value that can berecorded by the recording apparatus is found and selected. If therecording apparatus only complies with an image whose size is not morethan XGA, XGA is selected after SUXGA, UXGA, and SXGA are sequentiallychecked.

Alternatively, the capability table may be registered on the memory card101 in such a manner that the user copies to the capability informationmanagement area 103, information of the capability table pre-stored in aPC, etc.; or the user inputs the entries of Table 2 into the capabilityinformation management area 103 by use of a PC, etc., for example.

Note that, the foregoing operation must be carried out once before arecording apparatus different from the reproducing apparatus 210 createsor takes a content to be reproduced by the reproducing apparatus 210 andstores the content in the content storage area 102 of the memory card101. The foregoing operation must be carried out before the user uses areproducing apparatus whose type is different from that of thereproducing apparatus 210, because a capability table of the reproducingapparatus differs from that of the reproducing apparatus 210.

The following will explain the operation of a recording apparatus shownin FIG. 4 when the memory card 101 whose capability informationmanagement area 103 records the entries of Table 2 is used. FIG. 4 showsa recording apparatus 310 which encodes input data and creating acontent (encoded data). The recording apparatus 310 writes the content(encoded data) into the content storage area 102 of the memory card 101via a built-in card slot 304.

A control section 309 of the recording apparatus 310 reads outinformation of the capability table from the capability informationmanagement area 103 of the memory card 101, selects one of encodingdevices 305 through 308 (respectively for different contents or indifferent systems) that corresponds to the information of the capabilitytable, and controls the encoding of the input data based on thecapability table.

Note that, the present embodiment describes the example where therecording apparatus 310 includes four types of encoding devices 305through 308, but the type of encoding devices in the recording apparatus310 is not limited to this.

The following explanation assumes that, in FIG. 4, the recordingapparatus 310 is a DVC for use with memory card, the encoding device 305is an MPEG-2 encoding device, the encoding device 306 is a G. 726encoding device, the encoding device 307 is an AAC encoding device, andthe encoding device 308 is a JPEG (Exif) encoding device.

The memory card 101 has already registered the capability table of thereproducing apparatus (digital camera). First, based on entries in thecapability table read out from the capability information managementarea 103 of the memory card 101, the control section 309 of therecording apparatus 310 recognizes that the reproducing apparatus is adigital camera, the contents are still image and sound, and the encodingsystems for the still image and sound are JPEG (Exif) and G. 726,respectively.

Next, the control section 309 selects the JPEG (Exif) encoding device308 and the G. 726 encoding device 306 from the encoding devices in therecording apparatus 310, and supplies the input data to the encodingdevices 308 and 306. Here, as the JPEG (Exif) encoding parameters, asize in the range of from 160×120 to 2560×1920 as recorded in thecapability table of Table 2 is selected, and either 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 isselected as the pixel sampling.

If a capability value in the capability table is in a selectable range,a default value pre-set in the recording apparatus 310 may b-e used ifthe default value falls within the capability values of the encodingdevices. Alternatively, selected may be a maximum value that satisfiesboth the values in the capability table and the capability values of theencoding devices; a value corresponding to the format of the input data;or a value designated by the user.

The sampling frequency of 8 kHz and the bit rate of 16 kbps, both ofwhich are recorded in the capability table, are used as the G. 726encoding parameters. The thus encoded data (content) of the still image(JPEG (Exif)) and the sound (G. 726) is recorded in the content storagearea 102 of the memory card 101.

The following will explain a case where the content recorded on thememory card 101 is reproduced by the reproducing apparatus 210 shown inFIG. 2. The following explanation will assume that the decodingapparatus 210 is a digital camera in accordance with the capabilitytable of Table 2. Namely, the decoding device 205 is a JPEG (Exif)decoding device and the decoding device 206 is a G. 726 decoding device.

The reproducing apparatus (digital camera) 210 reads out via the controlsection 209, a user-designated content from contents recorded in thecontent storage area 102 of the memory card 101. Then, the decodingdevices 205 and 206 decode the encoded still image data and the encodedsound data, respectively, and output decoded data to the display andreproduction section 208.

Here, the user may designate the content by selecting from a list orthumbnails of the contents recorded on the memory card 101 when the listor thumbnails is displayed on the display and reproduction section 208.

The capability table recorded on the memory card 101 and used by therecording apparatus 310 in encoding and recording the content isoriginally written by the reproducing capability storing section 209 ofthe reproducing apparatus 210 when the memory card 101 is inserted intothe reproducing apparatus 210, and indicates capability values of thereproducing apparatus 210. The content recorded on the memory card 101is therefore encoded and recorded within a type reproducible by thereproducing apparatus 210 and within a processing capability of thereproducing apparatus 210. Hence, the content recorded on the memorycard can be reproduced by the reproducing apparatus 210 withoutproblems.

As explained above, in the present embodiment, the memory card 101pre-records information of a processing capability (such as a type ofcontent, an encoding system of content, and processing capability valuesthat allow reproduction) of the reproducing apparatus 210, and therecording apparatus 310 automatically creates a content that meets theinformation of the processing capability. With this, the reproducingapparatus 210 can surely reproduce a content recorded on the memory card101.

[Second Embodiment]

The following will explain another embodiment of the present invention.In First Embodiment as described above, the input data is image data,sound data, or other data picked up from a CCD or microphone. Incontrast, Second Embodiment will explain a case where a content that hasbeen already encoded is re-coded in consideration of encoding parametersso that the reproducing apparatus can reproduce the content. Forsimplicity, it is assumed in this case that the type of the content isonly moving image, and encoding parameters only for the moving imagewill be explained.

Table 3 shows an example of compatibility modes of an SD memory card.TABLE 3 EXAMPLE OF COMPATIBILITY MODES MODE IMAGE SIZE FRAME RATE BITRATE C4 UP TO CIF UP TO 15 fps UP TO 384 kbps C3 UP TO 240 × 176 UP TO15 fps UP TO 384 kbps C2 UP TO QCIF UP TO 15 fps UP TO 384 kbps C1 UP TOQCIF UP TO 15 fps UP TO 64 kbps

The encoding system in this example is MPEG-4, but is divided into fourmodes depending on the processing capability of the reproducingapparatus. A reproducing apparatus supporting the highest mode C4 iscapable of reproducing at a frame rate of 15 fps (frame/second), a CIFsize image encoded at a bit rate of 384 kbps. On the other hand, areproducing apparatus supporting only the lowest mode C1 is only capableof reproducing at a frame rate of 15 fps, a QCIF size image encoded at abit rate of 64 kbps.

Therefore a reproducing apparatus supporting C4 can reproduce a contentcreated by a recording apparatus supporting any of the modes C1 throughC4. In contrast, a reproducing apparatus supporting only C1 cannotproperly reproduce a content corresponding to C4 due to the occurrenceof frame missing or the discontinuing of reproduction, etc., because thecontent exceeds the processing capability of the reproducing apparatus.

In other words, in order to allow a reproducing apparatus supportingonly C1 to reproduce a content corresponding to C4, it is necessary tore-code the content in accordance with encoding parameters conforming tothe processing capability for C1, so as to re-create the content.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a recording apparatus of SecondEmbodiment. FIG. 5 shows a recording apparatus 410 for receiving andre-coding encoded data (content), and recording the re-coded content onthe memory card 101. In this case, the input data has been alreadyencoded by another recording apparatus (not shown).

It is assumed here that the other recording apparatus (not shown) is aDVC for use with memory card supporting C4 and the reproducing apparatusis a portable phone supporting C1. It is also assumed here thatinformation of the reproducing apparatus (portable phone) is recorded asa capability table in the capability information management area 103when the memory card 101 is inserted into the reproducing apparatus(portable phone) as in First Embodiment. Table 4 shows an example of thecapability table here. TABLE 4 EXAMPLE OF CAPABILITY TABLE NAME OFREPRODUCING APPARATUS PORTABLE PHONE TYPE OF CONTENT MOVING IMAGE, SOUNDREPRODUCING MOVING ENCODING MPEG-4 CAPABILITY IMAGE SYSTEM BIT RATE UPTO 64 kbps SIZE UP TO QCIF FRAME RATE UP TO 15 fps SOUND ENCODING G.726SYSTEM SAMPLING 8 kHz FREQUENCY BIT RATE 16 kbps

A control section 409 in FIG. 5 reads out the capability table (Table 4)from the memory card 101, and sets encoding parameters of a re-codingapparatus 405 in accordance with the capability table. Here, theencoding parameters are such that the image size is QCIF, the bit rateis 64 kps, and the frame rate is 15 fps.

The re-coding apparatus 405 decodes the input encoded data so as toreproduce moving image data; re-codes the reproduced moving image datain accordance with the encoding parameters set by the control section409; and records the encoded data (content) in the content storage area102 of the memory card 101. Specifically, the reproduced moving imagedata is re-coded such that the size is reduced from CIF to QCIF, thetarget bit rate is set to 64 kbps, and the frame rate is 15 fps.

Here, the re-coding apparatus 405 may completely reproduce the encodeddata before re-coding the reproduced moving image data, or may re-codethe original encoded data only by re-creating a portion of the dataother than information such as motion vector which requires highthroughput. Further, FIG. 5 shows only one type of re-coding apparatus,but the recording apparatus 410 may include a plurality of re-codingapparatuses respectively having different re-coding systems.

The content thus recorded on the memory card 101 can be reproduced by areproducing apparatus (portable phone) supporting C1.

As described above, the processing capability that the reproducingapparatus can reproduce is pre-recorded on the memory card. With this,the content is re-coded using encoding parameters that are within theprocessing capability of the reproducing apparatus, so that the content(encoded data) that the reproducing apparatus cannot support can berecorded on the memory card after being converted into a content thatthe reproducing apparatus can reproduce.

Note that, the foregoing described the case where the encoding systemfor the re-coding is the same with that for the encoding. However, somearrangements of the re-coding apparatus 405 allow the encoding system ofthe content to change from MPEG-4 to MPEG-2. Further, the type of thetarget content is not limited to moving image, and may be sound, audio,or still image.

Note that, the reproducing apparatus of Second Embodiment may bearranged the same as the reproducing apparatus 210 of FIG. 2. Here, thereproducing capability storing section 207 stores the information of thecapability table of Table 4, and the decoding device 205 is an MPEG-4decoding device. Namely, the capability table of Table 4 is recorded onthe memory card 101 using the reproducing apparatus 210, before therecording apparatus 410 performs the re-coding.

[Third Embodiment]

The following will explain a further embodiment of the presentinvention. First and Second Embodiments as described above described thecases where, with respect to only one type of reproducing apparatus, acapability table indicating a type of content and a processingcapability that allow reproduction is pre-registered on the memory card,and the recording apparatus reads out information of the capabilitytable from the memory card so as to perform encoding and recording inaccordance with the information thus read.

On the other hand, Third Embodiment will explain an example where aplurality of user-held reproducing apparatuses such as a TV, PC, DVC,digital camera, portable phone, and car audio system can be handled.

In a first method of Third Embodiment, when the user switches from areproducing apparatus A to another reproducing apparatus B, thecapability table B for the reproducing apparatus B is overwritten on thecapability table A for the reproducing apparatus A which is recorded inthe capability information management area 103 of the memory card 101.After this, the recording apparatus encodes and records on the memorycard 101, a content to be reproduced by the reproducing apparatus B.

When the capability table B is written onto the memory card 101, thecontent for the reproducing apparatus A which has been recorded on thememory card 101 may be either erased, retained, or transferred into adirectory for the capability table A specially created in the contentstorage area 102 of the memory card 101.

Further, in second and third methods of the present embodiment asdescribed below, if a plurality of reproducing conditions that allow thecontent to be reproduced are registered on the recording medium, one ormore encoding conditions that can be employed by the recording apparatusin question are selected from encoding conditions that correspond to theregistered reproducing conditions, and the content is encoded andrecorded in accordance with the selected encoding condition(s).

The second method is such that the capability information managementarea 103 of the memory card 101 stores a plurality of capability tables,and the user selects when recording the content, which one of thereproducing apparatuses to use for the reproducing (namely, which one ofthe capability tables to use for the recording).

This method will be explained with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 shows anexample where the capability information management area 103 of thememory card 101 stores four types of capability tables respectively forDVC, facsimile, digital camera, and portable phone. Here, directoriesrespectively corresponding to the capability tables that are stored inthe capability information directory B, for example.

The capability table that the recording apparatus uses in the recordingmay be selected in a following method. Namely, the memory card 101 isinserted into the reproducing apparatus 210 again before the recording,so that a capability table equal to or downwardly compatible with thecapability table recorded in the reproducing capability storing section207 is automatically selected from the plurality of capability tablesregistered on the memory card. In other words, the capability table tobe referred to is the capability table of the reproducing apparatus intowhich the memory card is most recently inserted.

As another example, the method may be such that, before the recordingapparatus records the content, the control section 209 of thereproducing apparatus 210 designates the capability table in accordancewith instructions from the user (not shown). In this case, thecapability table to be referred to is determined in accordance with themost recent instructions from the user. Here, the capability informationmanagement area 103 in FIG. 6 records information indicating which oneof the capability tables is selected. As a further example, the methodmay be such that the control section 309 of the recording apparatus 310shown in FIG. 4 designates the capability table in accordance withinstructions from the user (not shown). The capability table to bereferred to in these two examples, for example, is the capability tablethat is most recently selected from a plurality of capability tablesregistered on the memory card.

When the capability table that the recording apparatus uses in therecording is thus selected, information is added to the selectedcapability table by an application program pre-installed in thereproducing apparatus, the information indicating that the selectedcapability table is a condition that the recording apparatus shouldrefer to.

Further, the user may register a plurality of capability tables in thecapability information management area 103 by pre-registering whenpurchasing the memory card or other occasion, all of the reproducingapparatuses held by the user; or by sequentially adding a capabilitytable before recording a content.

As described above, the capability information management area 103 ofthe memory card 101 can store a plurality of capability tables. Table 5shows a detailed example of a method for storing the capability tables.TABLE 5 EXAMPLE OF METHOD FOR STORING CAPABILITY TABLES NUMBER OFCAPABILITY TABLES 4 TYPE OF CONTENT CAPABILITY STARTING MOVING STILLTABLE ADDRESS SIZE AUDIO IMAGE IMAGE SOUND TEXT A 0x1FB0 100 BYTES 0x1FB2 0x1FF2 64 BYTES 34 BYTES B 0x2014 16 BYTES 0x2016 14 BYTES C0x2024 64 BYTES 0x2026 0x2056 48 BYTES 14 BYTES D 0x2064 80 BYTES 0x20660x20A6 64 BYTES 14 BYTES

Table 5 shows an example of a capability table storing chart in thecapability information storage area 103 shown in FIG. 6. The capabilitytable storing chart of Table 5 records the number of capability tables,the starting address and size of each of the capability tables, and thestarting address and size of each content in the capability tables. Whena capability table is newly added, the number of capability tables isincreased by 1, and the added capability table is added in the chart.

Table 5 shows that the capability table A starts from 0x1FB0 and has atotal size of 100 bytes; a moving image content in the capability tableA starts from 0x1FB2 and has a size of 64 bytes; and a sound contentstarts from 0x1FF2 and has a size of 34 bytes. Further, when acapability table is newly added, the number of capability tables isincreased to 5, and the new capability table is added subsequently tothe capability table D.

Note that, Table 5 shows an example where the chart records both theaddress and size of each of the capability tables, but the chart mayincludes only the address or the size of each of the capability tables.

By reading the capability table storing chart, the recording apparatuscan use the address of a desired capability table and read entries inthe desired capability table, and the reproducing apparatus can write anew capability table at the address of an unused area of the capabilityinformation storage area 103.

The third method of the present embodiment is such that the memory card101 records contents in accordance with either a plurality of capabilitytables or all of the capability tables registered in the capabilityinformation management area 103. Though this is similar to the secondmethod, the memory card 101 here records contents in accordance with allof the tables with respect to one input data without selecting anycapability table.

In an example of FIG. 6, the input data is encoded at one timerespectively using encoding parameters in accordance with capabilitytables A through D, and the encoded contents are written in respectivelycorresponding directories A through D in the content storage area 102 ofthe memory card 101. In this case, four types of contents respectivelyfor DVC, facsimile, digital camera, and portable phone are recorded onthe memory card 101 at one time with respect to one input data.

In this case, the user does not need to pre-select a particularcapability table as in the second method. As another example, the usermay select a plurality of capability tables corresponding to a pluralityof desired reproducing apparatuses, so that only contents reproducibleby the desired reproducing apparatuses are recorded in the contentstorage area 102 of the memory card 101.

The reproducing apparatus 210 reproduces a content by finding in thecontent storage area 102, a directory corresponding to the capabilitytable that is recorded in the reproducing capability storing section 207of the reproducing apparatus 210, and reading out the content from thedirectory. Needless to say, the reproducing apparatus 210 can reproducea content in a directory corresponding to a capability table downwardlycompatible with the capability table that is recorded in the reproducingcapability storing section 207 of the reproducing apparatus 210, as wellas the content in the directory corresponding to the capability tablethat is recorded in the reproducing capability storing section 207.

Note that, a recording apparatus that can handle only audio or sound,such as an IC recorder, cannot record an image, and thus cannot create acontent for facsimile machine. Further, this recording apparatus cancreate a content for DVC, digital camera, and portable phone, but thecreated content is only sound or audio.

On the other hand, a recording apparatus that can handle only stillimage, such as a digital camera capable of shooting only still image,records only a still image content for DVC, facsimile machine, digitalcamera, and portable phone.

As described above, a content to be recorded on the memory card dependson all of (i) the type of input data, (ii) the capability of therecording apparatus, and (iii) the capability of the reproducingapparatus, which is registered on the memory card.

Here, if the memory card records a plurality of contents with respect toone input data, it is not necessary to create entirely differentcontents respectively for DVC and portable phone, for example, in anencoding system such as MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 which employs a hierarchicalencoding system.

The memory card may record contents in such a manner that a content forDVC as a higher layer (high definition or high frame rate) is estimatedbased on a content for portable phone as a lower layer (low definitionor low frame rate) so that the two contents are associated in ahierarchical structure. This achieves more efficient encoding comparedwith a case where two types of contents are separately recorded.

As described above, if the user has a plurality of reproducingapparatuses, a plurality of capable tables respectively corresponding tothe plurality of reproducing apparatuses may be pre-registered orsequentially added to the memory card. With this, it is possible toautomatically create a content that can be reproduced by each of thereproducing apparatuses without increasing workloads such as parametersetting in shooting and recording by the user.

The foregoing described the case where the input data that is originallyshot, recorded, or created by the user is recorded on the memory card.Other than this case, the capability table can be effectively used in acase where a paid content distributed by a content distribution serviceis downloaded from a communications network and recorded on the memorycard. In this case, it is possible to download a content after readingout information of a capability table recorded in the capabilityinformation management area 103 of the memory card 101 and confirmingthat a reproducing apparatus held by the user can reproduce the contentto be distributed.

A type of content, an encoding system of content, and a reproducingcapability that can be handled by a desired reproducing apparatus havebeen already registered on the memory card. Therefore it is possible tojudge whether or not the desired reproducing apparatus can reproduce acontent before downloading the content onto the memory card, withoutdownloading the content to the memory card and inserting the memory cardinto the reproducing apparatus.

Namely, by utilizing information of the capability table of thereproducing apparatus, the user can be prevented from mistakenlydownloading a content that cannot be reproduced by the reproducingapparatus held by the user and paying a needless fee.

First through Third Embodiments have described the examples where thecapability table is pre-registered on the memory card using thereproducing apparatus, and in accordance with the capability tablewritten onto the memory card, the recording apparatus sets the type,encoding system, encoding parameter, etc., of a content to be recordedon the memory card, so as to create the content reproducible by thereproducing apparatus.

The following will explain an example where the recording apparatusobtains from a source other than the memory card, information of thecapability table corresponding to a desired reproducing apparatus, andrecords on the memory card, a content that can be reproduced by thedesired reproducing apparatus.

It is assumed here that the recording apparatus 310 can connect to anetwork via the card slot 304 or other means. If the network isconnected to a device such as a PC which stores capability tables ofreproducing apparatuses, the control section 309 of the recordingapparatus selects in accordance with instructions from the user (notshown), a capability table that corresponds to the desired reproducingapparatus from the plurality of capability tables on the PC. With this,the recording apparatus 310 acquires values in the selected capabilitytable.

For example, it is assumed that a database of reproducing apparatuses isconstructed on a PC, and the reproducing apparatus is a digital cameraA. In this case, when the digital camera A is selected from thedatabase, the PC transfers to the recording apparatus, a capabilitytable corresponding to the digital camera A.

In accordance with the capability table, the recording apparatus setsthe type, encoding system, encoding parameter, etc., of a content to berecorded on the memory card, and encodes the content. The recordingapparatus then records the content to the content storage area 102 ofthe memory card 101, and records to the capability informationmanagement area 103 of the memory card 101, information of thecapability table obtained via the network.

Namely, unlike in the foregoing embodiments, it is not necessary toregister the capability information of the reproducing apparatus on thememory card before recording a content. Here, the capability table maybe registered on the memory card at the same time the content isrecorded on the memory card.

Another method is such that the recording apparatus 310 stores a list(not shown) of capability tables for reproducing apparatuses. Inresponse to instructions from the user (not shown), the control section309 of the recording apparatus 310 selects from the plurality ofcapability tables pre-recorded in the list, a capability table thatcorresponds to a desired reproducing apparatus.

In accordance with the selected capability table, the recordingapparatus sets the type, encoding system, encoding parameter, etc., of acontent to be recorded on the memory card, and encodes the content. Therecording apparatus then records the content to the content storage area102 of the memory card 101, and records to the capability informationmanagement area 103 of the memory card 101, information of thecapability table that is input by the user or obtained through thenetwork, etc.

Namely, unlike in the foregoing embodiments, it is not necessary toregister the capability information of the reproducing apparatus on thememory card before recording a content. In other words, the capabilitytable may be registered on the memory card at the same time the contentis recorded on the memory card. With this, the reproducing apparatusdoes not need to perform the operation of registering the capabilitytable on the memory card before recording a content, which was anecessary operation in the foregoing embodiments.

In the foregoing examples, it is possible to achieve the same effect asexplained in First through Third Embodiments by registering whenrecording a content, the capability table of the reproducing apparatusin the capability information management area 103 of the memory card101, even if the capability table of the reproducing apparatus has notbeen pre-registered in the capability information management area 103 ofthe memory card 101.

[Fourth Embodiment]

The following explains yet another embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 7 shows a memory card used in Fourth Embodiment. A memory card 601includes a content storage area 602 for storing encoded data (content)created by a recording apparatus.

The memory card 601 is inserted into a reproducing apparatus (such asPDA (Personal Digital Assistants), DVC, and PDC (Personal DigitalCellularsystem)). Then, an application program mounted on thereproducing apparatus automatically searches the content storage area602 of the memory card 601. The application program searches the contentstorage area 602 for a directory that stores a content dedicated for thereproducing apparatus in question, and if such a directory is not found,creates the directory. On the other hand, if the directory is found, theapplication program of the reproducing apparatus searches the dedicateddirectory, and reads out a necessary file, namely, a file of a contentthat the recording apparatus has created for the reproducing apparatusin question.

For example, when the memory card is inserted into a PDA whose apparatustype is “PDA1”, a directory called PDA1 is automatically created on thememory card if such a directory is not on the memory card. After this, afile that the recording apparatus created for PDA1 is sequentiallyplaced in this directory. Thus, if the directory PDA1 is found on thememory card, this indicates that the memory card was inserted into PDA1.

In FIG. 7, PDA1, PDC1, and DVC1 are directory names; and content A1,content A2, content B1, and content C1 are file names of contents.

Hence, if a directory dedicated for a certain reproducing apparatus isfound on the memory card as described above, it is possible to specifythe reproducing apparatus to be used to reproduce a content that isstored in the memory card. If encoding parameters corresponding to areproducing capability of a particular reproducing apparatus ispre-registered on the recording apparatus, the recording apparatus cancreate a content in accordance with the encoding parameterscorresponding to the particular reproducing apparatus, and store thecreated content in the dedicated directory in the memory card. Thismeans that the recording apparatus records on the memory card, a contentthat can be surely reproduced by the particular reproducing apparatus.

The following will explain the operation of a recording apparatus shownin FIG. 8 in a case where the memory card 601 of FIG. 7 is used. Therecording apparatus shown in FIG. 8 is arranged similarly to therecording apparatus of FIG. 4 as explained in First Embodiment exceptthat the recording apparatus of FIG. 8 includes a parameter storingsection 703, and has a control section 709 which operates differentlyfrom the control section 309 of FIG. 4. The control section 709 of thepresent embodiment finds from the content storage area 602 of the memorycard 601, a directory name that is registered in the parameter storingsection 703. In this case, the control section 709 finds the directoryname PDA 1.

Here, a directory name uniquely assigned to each reproducing apparatus,and information about a content reproducible by the each reproducingapparatus, as shown in Table 6, for example, are pre-registered in theparameter storing section 703. TABLE 6 DIRECTORY NAME PDA1 PDC1 DVC1 . .. NAME OF REPRODUCING APPARATUS PDA PORTABLE CAMERA . . . PHONE TYPE OFCONTENT MOVING STILL MOVING . . . IMAGE, IMAGE IMAGE, STILL AUDIO IMAGE,AUDIO ENCODING MOVING SYSTEM MPEG-4 MPEG-1 . . . PARAMETER IMAGE BITRATE (kbps) UP TO 384 UP TO 384 . . . SIZE UP TO UP TO 320 × 240 . . .240 × 176 FRAME RATE 10 6 . . . (fps) AUDIO SYSTEM G.726 MP3 . . .SAMPLING 8 8 . . . FREQUENCY (kHz) BIT RATE (kbps) 32 32 . . . STILLSYSTEM JPEG JPEG2000 . . . IMAGE PIXEL SAMPLING 4:2:0 4:2:0 . . . SIZEUP TO UP TO 640 × 480 . . . 320 × 240 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

From the parameter storing section 703, the control section 709 readsout information corresponding to the directory name PDA1, as shown inTable 6. In accordance with the read out information, the controlsection 709 selects one of encoding devices 705 through 708(respectively for different contents or in different systems), andcontrols the encoding of input data based on the parameters shown inTable 6.

First, in accordance with entries in the table read out from theparameter storing section 703, the control section 709 of the recordingapparatus 710 recognizes that the reproducing apparatus is PDA1, thecontents are moving images and audio, and the encoding systems for themoving images and audio are MPEG-4 and G. 726, respectively.

Next, the control section 709 selects an MPEG-4 encoding device (assumedas 705 here) and a G. 726 encoding device (assumed as 706 here), andsupplies the input data to the encoding devices 705 and 706.

Here, as the MPEG-4 encoding parameters, the size of 176×144, the bitrate of 192 kbps, and the frame rate of 10 fps are selected from theMPEG-4 parameters shown in Table 6. If an encoding parameter in thecapability table is in a selectable range, a default value pre-set inthe recording apparatus 710 may be used if the default value fallswithin the capability of the encoding devices. Alternatively, selectedmay be a maximum value that satisfies both the values in the capabilitytable and the capability values of the encoding devices; a valuecorresponding to the format of the input data; or a value designated bythe user.

As the G. 726 encoding parameters, the sampling frequency of 8 kHz andthe bit rate of 16 kbps, both of which are recorded in the table, areused. The thus encoded data (content) of the moving image (MPEG-4) andthe sound (G. 726) is recorded in the directory PDA1 in the contentstorage area 602 of the memory card 601.

As explained above, in Fourth Embodiment, a directory uniquely assignedto a reproducing apparatus 210 is created on the memory card 601, andthen the recording apparatus 710 automatically creates a content thatmeets the processing capability of the reproducing apparatus 210. Withthis, the reproducing apparatus 210 can surely reproduce the contentrecorded on the memory card 601.

Further, unlike in First through Third Embodiments of the presentinvention, the recording apparatus learns encoding parameters based onthe directory name that a conventional reproducing apparatus has beenalready using. Thus, a conventional reproducing apparatus as shown inFIG. 2, which is not provided with the reproducing capability storingsection 207, for example, may be used here as the reproducing apparatus.

Note that, in First through Third Embodiments as described earlier, thedirectory name uniquely assigned to a reproducing apparatus is used torecognize the reproducing apparatus that uses the memory card and knowthe reproducing capability of the reproducing apparatus. But, instead ofthe directory name, a file name uniquely assigned to a reproducingapparatus may be used to recognize the reproducing apparatus and knowthe reproducing capability of the reproducing apparatus. For example, acontent whose file name contains an apparatus name PDA1, such asPDA1_(—)1. mp4, can be recognized as being created by PDA1.

Further, if a plurality of reproducing apparatuses write dedicateddirectories on a memory card, a plurality of dedicated directories arecreated on the memory. The recording apparatus may select one of thedirectories either by default or by instructions from the user, andwrites a content only into the selected directory. Another example isthat contents are created using encoding parameters respectivelycorresponding to the reproducing apparatuses and respectively writteninto all of the directories. Further, a content may be written into onlya directory for the reproducing apparatus corresponding to the encodingparameters that can be employed by the recording apparatus.

The list of Table 6 registers PDA, portable phone, and camerarespectively in one type, but may register a reproducing apparatus inmultiple types, such as PDA1, PDA2, . . . , PDC1, PDC2, . . . , andDVC1, DVC2, . . . .

Further, when a reproducing apparatus whose unique directory name is notpre-registered in the list of Table 6 is found, the user can newlyregister in the list, the directory name, the reproducing apparatus, andinformation indicating the reproducing capability of the reproducingapparatus.

[Fifth Embodiment]

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a contentreproducing apparatus in accordance with Fifth Embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 shows a card slot 204′, decoding devices 205′ and 206′(respectively for different contents or in different systems) built in acontent reproducing apparatus 210′, a reproducing capability storingsection 207′ for storing information (capability information) about acontent reproducing capability of the content reproducing apparatus210′, a control section 209′ for recording capability information on amemory card and managing a content, and a display and reproductionsection 208′ for reproducing and displaying a content reproduced by thedecoding devices 205′ and 206′.

Note that, Embodiment 5 shown in FIG. 9 uses two types of decodingdevices 205′ and 206′, but the content reproducing apparatus 210′ mayinclude one type of decoding device or three or more types of decodingdevices.

The following will concretely explain the capability information aboutthe content reproducing capability of the content reproducing apparatus210′.

Table 7 shows an example of entries recorded in the capabilityinformation, and includes items such as the name and type name of thecontent reproducing apparatus, the type of reproducible content (such asaudio, sound, still image, moving image, and text), the reproducingcapability (such as encoding system, size, bit rate, and samplingfrequency). This information is managed as a capability table whichrecords in table form, setting values corresponding to each of theitems, as shown in Table 8, for example.

The capability table may record the profile, level (such as MP@ML), ormode as mentioned earlier, instead of recording the reproducingcapability such as encoding system and size as shown in Table 8. TABLE 7ENTRIES RECORDED IN CAPABILITY TABLE TYPE OF REPRODUCING APPARATUS DVC,DIGITAL CAMERA, TV, PC NAME OF REPRODUCING APPARATUS TYPE OF CONTENTAUDIO, MOVING IMAGE, STILL IMAGE, SOUND, TEXT REPRODUCING AUDIO ENCODINGSYSTEM AAC/MP3/WMA/G.726/WAVE CAPABILITY SAMPLING FREQUENCY BIT RATEMOVING ENCODING SYSTEM MPEG-4/MPEG-2/Motion-JPEG IMAGE BIT RATE FRAMERATE SIZE PROFILE AND LEVEL STILL ENCODING SYSTEM JPEG(Exif)/BMP/GIF/PNGIMAGE SIZE PIXEL SAMPLING 4:2:0/4:2:2/4:4:4 SOUND ENCODING SYSTEMG.726/AMR SAMPLING FREQUENCY BIT RATE TEXT

TABLE 8 EXAMPLE OF CAPABILITY TABLE TYPE OF REPRODUCING APPARATUSPORTABLE TERMINAL NAME OF REPRODUCING APPARATUS VIDEO PLAYER TYPE OFCONTENT MOVING IMAGE, SOUND REPRODUCING MOVING ENCODING SYSTEM MPEG-4CAPABILITY IMAGE PROFILE AND LEVEL Simple Profile Level3 SIZE 352 × 288,176 × 144 BIT RATE 384 kbps FRAME RATE 30 fps PIXEL SAMPLING 4:2:0 SOUNDENCODING SYSTEM G.726 SAMPLING 8 kHz FREQUENCY BIT RATE 16 kbps

The following explanation assumes that the content reproducing apparatus210′ is a portable terminal in accordance with the capability tableshown in Table 8. In this case, 205′ is a MPEG-4 decoding device, and206′ is a G. 726 decoding device.

The control section 209′ manages as file management information in aunified manner, a content and capability information recorded on thememory card. FIG. 10 shows an example of the file management information(directory information) on the memory card.

As shown in FIG. 10, the file management information has a treestructure of directories, and is composed of a capability informationfile which records the capability table of the content reproducingapparatus 210′, and one or more directories for content storage.Contents are classified according to creation dates, for example, andstored in the respective directories. The control section 209′ reads outthe capability table from the reproducing capability storing section207′ and writes the capability table onto the memory card when thememory card is inserted into the content reproducing apparatus 210′.

This operation will be explained as follows.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of the control section209′ in detail.

As shown in FIG. 11, the control section 209′ is composed of a contentdistinguishing section 211′, a work area 212′, a capability tableanalyzing section 213′, and a capability information file searchingsection 215′.

When a memory card is inserted into the card slot 204′, the controlsection 209′ accesses the memory card, and the capability informationfile searching section 215′ searches for the capability information fileon the memory card. If the capability information file is not found onthe memory card, the control section 209′ newly creates a capabilityinformation file, and then the control section 209′ reads out thecapability information table from the reproducing capability storingsection 207′ and records the capability information table into thecreated capability information file.

If an item of the capability table has a plurality of setting valuesfrom which the user can select, the control section 209′ may recordeither all of or part of the setting values. In order to record a partof the setting values, the control section 209′ reads out the capabilitytable to the work area 212′, and displays the selectable setting valueson the display and reproduction section 208′. The capability tableanalyzing section 213′ records to the capability information file fromthe capability table in the work area 212′, only setting values selectedin accordance with instructions from the user.

On the other hand, if the memory card already has the capabilityinformation file, the control section 209′ reads out from the capabilityinformation file, the capability table (first capability table) to thework area 212′ in the control section 209′. Further, the control section209′ reads out the capability table (second capability table) to thework area 212′ from the reproducing capability storing section 207′. Thecapability table analyzing section 213′ reads out items in the first andsecond capability tables which are read out to the work area 212′, andcompares setting values of the items. In this example, the capabilitytable shown in FIG. 8 is registered on the memory card, and the contentreproducing apparatus 210′ has the capability table shown in Table 8.Namely, the two capability tables are identical with each other. Thiseliminates the need for updating the capability information file, sothat the control section 209′ discards the capability tables in the workarea 212′.

Further, the content reproducing apparatus 210′ may have a plurality ofcapability tables other than the capability information file shown inTable 8. In this case, the control section 209′ may cause the displayand reproduction section 208′ to display the plurality of selectablecapability tables, and records to the capability information file, onlycapability tables selected in accordance with instructions from theuser. FIG. 12 shows an example of a list of capability tables displayedon the content reproducing apparatus 210′. Note that, FIG. 12 shows acase where the capability table 4 is selected.

If a plurality of capability tables are selected here, the controlsection 209′ sorts the selected capability tables in order of preferencedesignated by instructions from the user, and records the capabilitytables to the capability information file. Further, in a case where thememory card already has the capability information file, the controlsection 209′ adds the second capability table to the first capabilitytable recorded in the capability information file if the first andsecond capability tables indicate the same type or name of reproducingapparatus but have different entries from each other.

Note that, the foregoing described the case where the memory cardrecords one capability information file, but the memory card may recorda plurality of capability information files if all of the capabilityinformation files indicate the same reproducing apparatus. In this case,a directory tree containing the capability information file (rootdirectory in FIG. 10) includes the plurality of capability informationfiles.

Further, the capability tables thus recorded in the capabilityinformation file can be distinguished from one another by the capabilitytable analyzing section 213′, and can be deleted individually. Further,if there are a plurality of capability information files, the capabilityinformation files may be deleted individually.

Further, the capability table may be recorded on the memory card in sucha manner that the user copies to the capability information file,information of the capability table pre-stored in a PC, etc., forexample; or the user directly inputs the entries shown in Table 8 intothe capability information file by use of a PC.

Further, if the content reproducing apparatus 210′ reformats the memorycard, the content reproducing apparatus 210′ may create a capabilityinformation file in a manner similar to a case when the memory card isfirst inserted into the card slot 204′, after, erasing all of thecapability information file and contents on the memory card.

The following will explain a method for recording a content on thememory card which has recorded the entries shown in Table 8.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a content recordingapparatus 310′ of Embodiment 5 for creating a content (encoded data) byencoding input data.

FIG. 13 shows a card slot 304′, encoding devices 305′ through 308′(respectively for different contents or in different systems) built inthe content recording apparatus 310′, and a control section 309′ forreading out capability information from the memory card and recording acontent on the memory card.

The content recording apparatus 310′ reads out information of thecapability table from the capability information file on the memorycard, selects one of the encoding devices (305′ through 308′) that has asystem in accordance with the capability table, encodes input data inaccordance with the capability table, and records a content (encodeddata) on the memory card via the card slot 304′.

Note that, Embodiment 5 shown in FIG. 13 shows four types of encodingdevices 305′ through 308′, but the content recording apparatus 310′ mayinclude either three or less encoding devices or five or more encodingdevices.

Next, the operation of the control section 309′ will be explained withreference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing the controlsection 309′ in detail.

The control section 309′ is composed of a work area 312′, a capabilitytable analyzing section 313′, a parameter generating section 314′, and acapability information file searching section 315′. Note that, thefollowing explanation will assume that, in FIG. 13, the contentrecording apparatus 310′ is a DVC, the encoding device 305′ is an MPEG-4encoding device, the encoding device 306′ is a G. 726 encoding device,the encoding device 307′ is an AAC encoding device, and the encodingdevice 308′ is a JPEG (Exif) encoding device.

First, the control section 309′ accesses the memory card, and thecapability information file searching section 315′ searches for thecapability information file on the memory card in accordance withmanagement information pre-recorded on the memory card. Based on entriesrecorded in a capability table read out from the thus found capabilityinformation file, the capability table analyzing section 313′ recognizesthat the content reproducing apparatus 210′ is a portable terminal, thecontents are moving image and sound, and the encoding systems for themoving image and sound are MPEG-4 and G. 726, respectively.

Here, as the MPEG-4 encoding parameters, a size that can be used by thecontent recording apparatus 310′ is selected from the range of from176×144 to 352×288 that is recorded in the capability table of Table 8,and a bit rate and a frame rate are selected from respective rangesusable by the content recording apparatus 310′. If a capability value inthe capability table is in a usable range like this, a value used may beeither a default value pre-set in the content recording apparatus (DVC)310′, a maximum value that satisfies both the values in the capabilitytable and the capability values of the content recording apparatus (DVC)310′; a value corresponding to the format of the input data; or a valuedesignated by the user. As the G. 726 encoding parameters, the samplingfrequency of 8 kHz and the bit rate of 16 kbps, both of which arerecorded in the capability table, are used.

Here, in the content recording apparatus (DVC) 310′, the encoding device305′ complies with MPEG-4, the encoding device 306′ complies with G.726, the encoding device 307′ complies with AAC, and the encoding device308′ complies with JPEG (Exif). Thus, in order to encode input data (inthis case, one frame of moving image data, and sound data), thecapability table analyzing section 313′ selects the encoding device 305′complying with MPEG-4 and the encoding device 306′ complying with G.726, and supplies the input data to the encoding devices 305′ and 306′.

The parameter generating 314′ generates in accordance with settingvalues described in the capability table, control parameters forcontrolling the encoding devices 305′ and 306′, and supplies the controlparameters to the encoding devices 305′ and 306′. The encoded data(content) of the moving image and sound encoded in this manner (MPEG-4and G. 726) are recorded in the directory 1 (see FIG. 10) on the memorycard, for example.

If one capability information file records a plurality of capabilitytables, the control section 309′ reads out all of the capability tablesto the work area 312′ in the control section 309′. The capability tableanalyzing section 313′ analyzes the capability tables that are read outto the work area 312′, and displays on a display section (not shown), alist of the capability tables. FIG. 15 shows an example of the listdisplayed here. FIG. 15 shows a case where the capability table 4 isselected. The capability tables are recorded in order of preference.Thus, when the capability tables are displayed in the same orderstarting from the capability table recorded first in the order, thecapability tables can be displayed in order of preference. Thecapability table analyzing section 313′ reads out from the work area312′, a capability table selected in accordance with instructions fromthe user. Note that, the capability table analyzing section 313′ mayselect a capability table recorded first in the order in the capabilityinformation file, so as to read out the high-priority capability table.

Further, if the capability table analyzing section 313′ judges that theselected capability table is not usable because the recording apparatus310′ does not comply with the selected capability table or other reason,the control section 309′ reads out to the work area 312′, a capabilitytable either next selected by the user or next preferred. Here, thecapability table judged as unusable may be entirely replaced with thenewly read out capability table. Alternatively, setting values of itemsjudged as unusable in the capability table may be replaced with settingvalues of the items in the newly read out capability table. If there isno usable capability table, the display section (not shown) shows anerror display, but the content recording apparatus may select closestsetting values from selectable encoding devices and encode the inputdata.

The following will explain a case where the content reproducingapparatus 210′ shown in FIG. 9 reproduces the content that is recordedon the memory card as described above.

In the content reproducing apparatus (portable terminal) 210′, thecontrol section 209′ reads out from contents recorded on the memorycard, a content designated in accordance with instructions from theuser. Then, the decoding device 205′ and the decoding device 206′ decodeencoded moving image data and encoded sound data, respectively, andoutput the decoded data to the display and reproduction section 208′.Here, the user may designate the content by selecting from a list orthumbnails of the contents recorded on the memory card when the list orthumbnails are displayed on the display and reproduction section 208′.

The capability table recorded on the memory card and used by the contentrecording apparatus 310′ in encoding and recording the content indicatescapability values of the content reproducing apparatus 210′ which arewritten by the reproducing capability storing section 207′ when thememory card is inserted into the content reproducing apparatus 210′. Thecontent recorded on the memory card is therefore encoded and recordedwithin a type reproducible by the content reproducing apparatus 210′ andwithin a processing capability of the content reproducing apparatus210′. Hence, the content recorded on the memory card can be reproducedby the content reproducing apparatus 210′ without problems.

Table 9 shows a capability table of a general-purpose portable terminalhaving a moving image reproducing function. This compatibility table isinferior to the capability table of the dedicated terminal shown inTable 8 in terms of the bit rate and frame rate of reproducible movingimage. If the user holding such a general-purpose terminal uses thecontent recording apparatus (DVC) 310′ as described earlier to record acontent, it is possible to automatically create a content within theprocessing capability of the content reproducing apparatus 210′ by usingthe method as described above. TABLE 9 TYPE OF REPRODUCING APPARATUSPORTABLE TERMINAL NAME OF REPRODUCING APPARATUS PDA-1 TYPE OF CONTENTMOVING IMAGE, SOUND REPRODUCING MOVING ENCODING SYSTEM MPEG-4 CAPABILITYIMAGE PROFILE AND LEVEL Simple Profile Level1 SIZE 176 × 144 BIT RATE 64kbps FRAME RATE 15 fps PIXEL SAMPLING 4:2:0 SOUND ENCODING SYSTEM G.726SAMPLING FREQUENCY 8 kHz BIT RATE 16 kbps

As described above, the memory card pre-records the processingcapability information (such as a type of content, an encoding system ofcontent, and a processing capability value that allow reproduction) ofthe content reproducing apparatus 210′, and the content recordingapparatus 310′ automatically creates a content that meets the processingcapability information. With this, it is possible to record on thememory card, a content that can be surely reproduced by the contentreproducing apparatus 210′ without requiring the user to perform anycomplicated setting.

[Sixth Embodiment]

The following will explain Sixth Embodiment of a contentrecording/reproducing system, content reproducing apparatus, contentrecording apparatus, and content re-coding apparatus in accordance withthe present invention.

Sixth Embodiment will explain the operation in which the user switchesfrom a content reproducing apparatus (A) to another content reproducingapparatus (B) in a case where the user holds two portable phonesrespectively having different capabilities in accordance with usage, orthe user holds a plurality of content reproducing apparatuses such asTV, PC, DVC, digital camera, portable phone, and car audio system.

Here, the management information recorded on the memory card is as shownin FIG. 10, and the content reproducing apparatus (B) is arranged asshown in FIGS. 9 and 11.

When the memory card is inserted into the card slot 204′, the controlsection 209′ accesses the memory card, and, in accordance withmanagement information pre-recorded on the memory card, the capabilityinformation file searching section 215′ searches for the capabilityinformation file in the directories. A case where the memory cardalready has the capability information file corresponding to the contentreproducing apparatus in question is the same as in Fifth Embodiment,thus their explanation is omitted here.

On the other hand, if the memory card does not have the capabilityinformation file corresponding to the content reproducing apparatus inquestion, the control section 209′ updates the management information.More specifically, the control section 209′ creates a directory for thecontent reproducing apparatus (A) on the memory card, and transfers thecapability information file and the content to the directory. Further,the control section 209′ creates a directory for the content reproducingapparatus (B) and creates a capability information file in the directoryfor the content reproducing apparatus (B).

FIG. 16 shows a directory structure in the management information here.As shown in FIG. 16, on the memory card, directories respectively forthe content reproducing apparatus (A) and the content reproducingapparatus (B) are created, and two types of capability information filesare respectively stored. In this manner, if each content reproducingapparatus has at least one capability information file, the capabilityinformation file and a content are recorded in the same directory.

Next, the following will explain the operation of the content recordingapparatus 310′ for recording a moving image content on the memory card.

First, the control section 309′ of the content recording apparatus 310′accesses the memory card and, in accordance with management informationpre-recorded on the memory card, the capability information filesearching section 315′ searches for the capability information file inthe directories. When a plurality of capability information files areobtained as a result of the searching, the capability table analyzingsection 313′ reads out the types and names of reproducing apparatusesfrom capability tables whose type of content is moving image.

The control section 309′ displays on a display section (not shown), alist of the read out types of content reproducing apparatuses 210′. Ifthere are a plurality of reproducing apparatuses in the same type, alist of the names of the reproducing apparatuses are also displayed.FIG. 17 shows an example of the list displayed here. In the exampleshown in FIG. 17, the apparatus names are displayed for portableterminals, and the apparatus types are displayed for the otherapparatuses. Note that, FIG. 17 shows a case where the portable phone isselected.

The control section 309′ reads out a capability table from a capabilityinformation file corresponding to the content reproducing apparatus 210′designated in accordance with instructions from the user. Alternatively,without displaying the list to the user, the control section 309′selects one of the plurality of capability information files byselecting the most recently dated one of the capability informationfiles, for example. Here, a capability information file (B)corresponding to the content reproducing apparatus (B) is selected. Notethat, the operation of reading out the capability table from theselected capability information file and recording the moving imagecontent is the same as in Fifth Embodiment, thus their explanation isomitted here. Here, the content recorded in accordance with thecapability information file (B) is written in a directory (B).

The following will explain the operation in which the contentreproducing apparatus 210′ shown in FIG. 9 reproduces the content thatis recorded on the memory card as described above.

First, the control section 209′ accesses the memory card, and, inaccordance with management information pre-recorded on the memory card,the capability information file searching section 215′ searches for thecapability information file in the directories. When the capabilityinformation file is obtained as a result of the searching, a capabilitytable (first capability table) is read out from the capabilityinformation file to the work area 212′ in the control section 209′.Further, a capability table (second capability table) is read out fromthe reproducing capability storing section 207′ to the work area 212′.

The capability table analyzing section 213′ reads out items in the firstand second capability table which are read out to the work area 212′,and compares setting values of the items so as to judge whether or notthe first capability table corresponds to the content reproducingapparatus 210′ in question. If the capability information filecorresponding to the content reproducing apparatus 210′ in question isdetected in this manner, the content reproducing apparatus 210′reproduces a content stored in a directory containing the capabilityinformation file, in accordance with the pre-recorded managementinformation. The operation of reproducing the content selected by theuser is the same as in Fifth Embodiment, thus their explanation isomitted here.

Note that, the foregoing described the case where there are a pluralityof reproducing apparatuses respectively having different capabilities,but the directory structure shown in FIG. 16 may be applied to a casewhere there are a plurality of capability information files respectivelyrecording different capability tables with respect to one reproducingapparatus.

As described above, even if there are a plurality of content reproducingapparatuses 210′, the memory card pre-records processing capabilityinformation (such as a type of content, an encoding system of content,and processing capability values that allow reproduction) of the contentreproducing apparatus, and the content recording apparatus 310′automatically creates a content that meets the processing capabilityinformation. With this, it is possible to record on the memory card, acontent that can be surely reproduced by each of the content reproducingapparatuses without requiring the user to perform any complicatedsetting.

[Seventh Embodiment]

The following will explain Seventh Embodiment of a contentrecording/reproducing system, content reproducing apparatus, contentrecording apparatus, and content re-coding apparatus in accordance withthe present invention.

In Fifth Embodiment as described earlier, the input data is image data,sound data, or other data picked up from a CCD or microphone. SeventhEmbodiment will explain a case where a content that has been alreadyencoded is re-coded in consideration of encoding parameters so that thecontent reproducing apparatus can reproduce the content.

Note that, for simplicity, it is assumed in Seventh Embodiment that thetype of the content is only moving image, and encoding parameters onlyfor the moving image will be explained. Table 10 shows an example ofcompatibility modes of an SD memory card. TABLE 10 EXAMPLE OFCOMPATIBILITY MODES MODE IMAGE SIZE FRAME RATE BIT RATE C4 CIF 15 fps384 kbps C3 1/2QVGA 15 fps 384 kbps C2 QCIF 15 fps 384 kbps C1 QCIF 15fps  64 kbps

The encoding system in the example shown in Table 10 is MPEG-4, but isdivided into four modes depending on the processing capability of thereproducing apparatus. A content reproducing apparatus supporting thehighest mode C4 is capable of reproducing at a frame rate of 15 fps(frame/second), a CIF size image encoded at a bit rate of 384 kbps. Onthe other hand, a content reproducing apparatus supporting only thelowest mode C1 is only capable of reproducing at a frame rate of 15 fps,a QCIF size image encoded at a bit rate of 64 kbps.

Therefore a content reproducing apparatus supporting C4 can reproduce acontent created by a content recording apparatus supporting any of themodes C1 through C4. In contrast, a content reproducing apparatussupporting only C1 cannot properly reproduce a content corresponding toC4 due to the occurrence of frame missing or the discontinuing ofreproduction, etc., because the content exceeds the processingcapability of the content reproducing apparatus. In other words, inorder to allow a content reproducing apparatus supporting only C1 toreproduce a content corresponding to C4, it is necessary to re-code thecontent in accordance with encoding parameters conforming to theprocessing capability for C1, so as to re-create the content.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a content recording apparatus 410′ ofSeventh Embodiment.

The content recording apparatus 410′ in accordance with SeventhEmbodiment receives and re-codes encoded data (content), and records there-coded content on the memory card. In this case, the input data hasbeen already encoded by another content recording apparatus (not shown).It is assumed here that the other content recording apparatus (notshown) is a DVC supporting C4 and the content reproducing apparatus is aportable phone supporting C1. It is also assumed here that informationof the content reproducing apparatus (portable phone) is recorded to acapability table in the capability information file when the memory card101 is inserted into the content reproducing apparatus (portable phone)as in Fifth Embodiment. Table 11 shows an example of the capabilitytable here. TABLE 11 EXAMPLE OF CAPABILITY TABLE NAME OF REPRODUCINGAPPARATUS PORTABLE PHONE TYPE OF CONTENT MOVING IMAGE, SOUND REPRODUCINGMOVING ENCODING MPEG-4 CAPABILITY IMAGE SYSTEM BIT RATE 64 kbps SIZEQCIF FRAME RATE 15 fps SOUND ENCODING G.726 SYSTEM SAMPLING 8 kHzFREQUENCY BIT RATE 16 kbps

Further, since content files have been already recorded on the memorycard, reproducibility information with respect to each of the contentfiles may be recorded in the capability information file. In typicalcases, the reproducing apparatus accesses in accordance with themanagement information pre-recorded on the memory card, only a contentrecorded in the directory for the reproducing apparatus in question.Here, as an exceptional case, the reproducing apparatus accesses acontent in a directory for another terminal, and records in thecapability information file in the directory for the other terminal,whether or not the reproducing apparatus in question can reproduce thecontent in the directory for the other terminal. Table 12 is an exampleof the reproducibility information that is recorded in the capabilityinformation file as described above. TABLE 12 EXAMPLE OF REPRODUCIBILITYINFORMATION STORAGE DIRECTORY AND JUDGMENT RESULT OF FILE NAMEREPRODUCIBILITY DIRECTORY A/CONTENT A1 1 DIRECTORY A/CONTENT A2 0DIRECTORY B/CONTENT B1 1 DIRECTORY C/CONTENT C1 0

As shown in Table 12, the reproducibility information records a filename and a judgment result as to whether or not the reproducingapparatus (portable phone) can reproduce a content file under the filename (“0” indicates that the reproducing apparatus cannot reproduce thecontent file, and “1” indicates that the reproducing apparatus canreproduce the content file). A reproducing apparatus (portable phone)supporting C1, for example, is judged as not capable of reproducingcontent files C2 through C4. Note that, in Table 12, if a directory (B)corresponds to the reproducing apparatus (portable phone) in question,it is not necessary to create reproducibility information of a contentin the directory (B).

The control section 409′ shown in FIG. 18 searches for the capabilityinformation file in the directories on the memory card in accordancewith management information pre-recorded on the memory card. If acapability information file corresponding to a plurality of contentreproducing apparatuses is obtained as a result of the searching, thecontrol section 409′ displays on a display section (not shown), a listof the reproducing apparatuses, and selects one of the reproducingapparatuses that is designated by instructions from the user. The listis displayed on the display section as in the example shown in FIG. 17which is cited in Sixth Embodiment. The control section 409′ reads out acapability table (see Table 11) from the capability information file onthe memory card, and sets encoding parameters of a re-coding apparatus405′ in accordance with the capability table. Here, the encodingparameters are such that the image size is QCIF, the bit rate is 64 kps,and the frame rate is 15 fps.

If the reproducibility information (see Table 12) is recorded in thecapability information file, the control section 409′ presents on thedisplay section (not shown), a list of contents whose judgment resultsof reproducibility are “0”. Then, the control section 409′ reads outencoded data of a content designated by instructions from the user.Alternatively, without displaying the list to the user, the controlsection 409′ reads out encoded data of the contents whose judgmentresults of reproducibility are “0”.

The re-coding apparatus 405′ decodes the input encoded data so as toreproduce moving image data; re-codes the reproduced moving image datain accordance with the encoding parameters set by the control section409′; and records the encoded data (content) on the memory card.Specifically, the reproduced moving image data is re-coded such that thesize is reduced from CIF to QCIF, the target bit rate is set to 64 kbps,and the frame rate is 15 fps.

Here, the re-coding apparatus 405′ may completely reproduce the encodeddata before re-coding the reproduced moving image data, or may re-codethe original encoded data only by re-creating a portion of the dataother than information such as motion vector which requires highthroughput. Further, the example shown in FIG. 18 shows only one type ofre-coding apparatus, but the content recording apparatus 410′ mayinclude a plurality of re-coding apparatuses respectively for differentcontents or in different re-coding systems.

The content thus recorded on the memory card can be reproduced by acontent reproducing apparatus (portable phone) supporting C1. Asdescribed above, the processing capability that can be handled by thecontent reproducing apparatus is pre-recorded on the memory card. Withthis, the content is re-coded using encoding parameters which are withinthe processing capability of the content reproducing apparatus, so thatthe content (encoded data) that the content reproducing apparatus cannotsupport can be recorded on the memory card after being converted into acontent that the content reproducing apparatus can reproduce.

Note that, the foregoing explained the encoding parameters with respectto the processing capability for contents in the same encoding system.However, some arrangements of the re-coding apparatus 405 allow theencoding system of the content to change from MPEG-4 to MPEG-2. Further,the type of the content is not limited to moving image, and may besound, audio, or still image.

Note that, the content reproducing apparatus of the present embodimentmay be arranged similarly to the content reproducing apparatus 210′shown in FIG. 9. Here, the reproducing capability storing section 207′stores the information of the capability table of Table 11, and thedecoding device 205′ is an MPEG-4 decoding device.

As described above, the memory card pre-records processing capabilityinformation (such as a type of content, an encoding system of content,and processing capability values that allow reproduction) of the contentreproducing apparatus, and the content recording apparatus automaticallyconverts the content into a content that meets the processing capabilityinformation. With this, even if a content recorded on the memory card isre-coded, it is possible to record on the memory card, a content thatcan be surely reproduced by each of the content reproducing apparatuseswithout requiring the user to perform any complicated setting.

The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as adeparture from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intendedto be included within the scope of the following claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

In the present invention, a recording apparatus automatically reads outinformation pre-written onto a recording medium, the informationindicating a type of content, an encoding system of content, areproducing capability, etc., that can be handled by a reproducingapparatus; and then sets an encoding parameter, etc., in accordance withthe read out information. With this, the user does not need to designatea type, an encoding system, an encoding parameter, etc., of content, andthe reproducing apparatus can surely reproduce in a normal manner, anycontent recorded on the recording medium.

Further, since the recording apparatus reads the information stored inthe recording medium, the recording apparatus can know the reproducingcapability of the reproducing apparatus in advance. With this, byre-coding an existing content (encoded data) using an encoding systemand encoding parameter that can be handled by the reproducing apparatus,the recording apparatus can record on the recording medium, a contentthat can be reproduced by the desired reproducing apparatus.

Further, even if there are a plurality of reproducing apparatuses,multiple pieces of the information respectively corresponding to thereproducing apparatuses may be registered on the recording medium, andan content storage area in the recording medium may be arranged to havea plurality of directories respectively corresponding to the reproducingapparatuses. With this, it is possible to record on the recordingmedium, a content that can be reproduced by a desired one of thereproducing apparatuses. Further, the user can easily select areproducing apparatus by selecting from a list of choices of thereproducing apparatuses, for example.

Further, the recording apparatus specifies the reproducing apparatusbased on a directory name created on the recording medium, sets anencoding parameter corresponding to the specified reproducing apparatus,and records encoded data in a directory having the directory name. Withthis, the user does not need to designate the encoding system andencoding parameter of content, etc., and the reproducing apparatus cansurely reproduce in a normal manner, any content recorded in thedirectory on the recording medium.

Further, the recording apparatus specifies the reproducing apparatusbased on a content file name created on the recording medium, and setsan encoding parameter corresponding to the specified reproducingapparatus. With this, the user does not need to designate the encodingsystem and encoding parameter of content, etc., and the reproducingapparatus can surely reproduce in a normal manner, any content recordedon the recording medium.

1. A removable recording medium allowing a content recorded on saidrecording medium to be reproduced when attached to a reproducingapparatus, comprising: (A) an area for pre-storing one or moreconditions that allow the content to be reproduced by said reproducingapparatus, said one or more conditions being intended to be used by arecording apparatus; and (B) an area for storing one or more contentscreated in accordance with said one or more conditions.
 2. The recordingmedium as set forth in claim 1, wherein: a plurality of said reproducingconditions are stored in said area (A); and a plurality of said contentsrespectively corresponding to the plurality of said reproducingconditions are recorded in said area (B).
 3. A removable recordingmedium allowing a content recorded on said recording medium to bereproduced when attached to a reproducing apparatus, comprising: an areafor storing one or more conditions that allow the content to bereproduced by said reproducing apparatus; an area for storing one ormore contents created in accordance with said one or more conditions;and an area for recording information indicating which one of said oneor more conditions a recording apparatus should refer to.
 4. Therecording medium as set forth in claim 3, wherein: said informationindicates one of said one or more conditions that is most recentlystored in said recording medium.
 5. A removable recording mediumallowing a content recorded on said recording medium to be reproducedwhen attached to a reproducing apparatus, comprising: an area forstoring one or more conditions that allow the content to be reproducedby said reproducing apparatus; and an area for storing one or morecontents created in accordance with said one or more conditions, saidone or more conditions including at least a type of a content to bereproduced.
 6. A removable recording medium allowing a content recordedon said recording medium to be reproduced when attached to a reproducingapparatus, comprising: an area for storing one or more conditions thatallow the content to be reproduced by said reproducing apparatus; and anarea for storing one or more contents created in accordance with saidone or more conditions, said one or more conditions including at leastan encoding system of a content to be reproduced.
 7. A removablerecording medium allowing a content recorded on said recording medium tobe reproduced when attached to a reproducing apparatus, comprising: anarea for storing one or more conditions that allow the content to bereproduced by said reproducing apparatus; and an area for storing one ormore contents created in accordance with said one or more conditions,said one or more conditions including at least a processing capabilityof said reproducing apparatus.
 8. A content recording apparatus encodinga content and recording the content on a removable recording medium,comprising: means for reading out before recording the content, one ormore reproducing conditions that allow the content to be reproduced,said one or more reproducing conditions being pre-registered on saidrecording medium; and means for setting one or more encoding conditionsof encoding the content in accordance with said one or more reproducingconditions.
 9. The content recording apparatus as set forth in claim 8,further comprising: means for re-coding in accordance with said one ormore reproducing conditions, a received content into an encoded contentreproducible by a reproducing apparatus, if the received content hasbeen already encoded.
 10. The content recording apparatus as set forthin claim 8 wherein: if a plurality of reproducing conditions as said oneor more reproducing conditions are stored in said recording medium, oneof the plurality of reproducing conditions is selected, and said one ormore encoding conditions are set so as to correspond the selected one ofthe plurality of reproducing conditions.
 11. The content recordingapparatus as set forth in claim 8f 9, wherein: if a plurality ofreproducing conditions as said one or more reproducing conditions arestored in said recording medium, said one or more encoding conditionsare set so as to correspond to all of the plurality of reproducingconditions.
 12. The content recording apparatus as set forth in claim 8f9, wherein: if a plurality of reproducing conditions as said one or morereproducing conditions are stored in said recording medium, one or moreencoding conditions that are employable by said content recordingapparatus are selected from said one or more encoding conditions thatare set in accordance with the plurality of reproducing conditions, andall of the selected one or more encoding conditions are set.
 13. Thecontent recording apparatus as set forth in any one claim 8, wherein:said one or more encoding conditions are determined in accordance withinformation indicating which one or more conditions said contentrecording apparatus should refer to from said one or more reproducingconditions.
 14. A content reproducing apparatus reading out a contentrecorded on a removable recording medium and reproducing the contentafter applying predetermined signal processing to the content,comprising: means for storing a condition that allows the content to bereproduced by said content reproducing apparatus; and means for storingsaid condition in said recording medium.
 15. The content reproducingapparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein: said content reproducingapparatus records on said recording medium when storing said reproducingcondition in said recording medium, information indicating whether ornot said reproducing condition is a condition that a recording apparatusshould refer to.
 16. A content recording apparatus encoding a contentand recording the content on a removable recording medium, comprising:means for reading out before said content recording apparatus recordsthe content, a directory name created on said recording medium; andmeans for setting in accordance with the read out directory name, acondition of encoding the content.
 17. A content recording apparatusencoding a content and recording the content on a removable recordingmedium, comprising: means for reading out before said content recordingapparatus records the content, a content file name recorded on saidrecording medium; and means for setting in accordance with the read outfile name, a condition of encoding the content.
 18. A content recordingapparatus downloading a content via a communications network andrecording the content on a removable recording medium, comprising: meansfor reading out from said recording medium before said content recordingapparatus downloads the content, a pre-stored condition that allows thecontent to be reproduced; and means for setting in accordance with saidcondition, a condition of downloading the content.
 19. A contentrecording/reproducing system, including a content recording apparatusfor recording a content on a removable recording medium, and a contentreproducing apparatus for reproducing the content recorded on therecording medium, wherein: said content reproducing apparatus records onsaid recording medium, capability information regarding a contentreproducing capability of said content reproducing apparatus; and saidcontent recording apparatus analyzes the capability information recordedon said recording medium, and records on said recording medium, only acontent that does not exceed the content reproducing capability of saidcontent reproducing apparatus.
 20. A content reproducing apparatus forreproducing a content recorded on a recording medium, comprising:reproducing capability storing means for storing capability informationregarding a content reproducing capability of said content reproducingapparatus; capability information recording means for recording on saidrecording medium, the capability information as a capability informationfile; and file management means for recording on said recording medium,management information which associates the capability information filewith a content.
 21. The content reproducing apparatus as set forth inclaim 20, wherein said file management means includes: capabilityinformation searching means for searching for a capability informationfile recorded on said recording medium; capability informationretrieving means for retrieving capability information in the capabilityinformation file that is searched for; and capability informationcomparing means for comparing (A) the capability information of saidcontent reproducing apparatus, which is stored in said reproducingcapability storing means, with (B) the capability information retrievedby said capability information retrieving means, said file managementmeans recording to the capability information file recorded on saidrecording medium, a portion of the capability information (A) that isnot recorded on said recording medium, so as to update the managementinformation.
 22. The content reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim20, wherein: said file management means searches for the capabilityinformation file of said content reproducing apparatus from capabilityinformation files pre-recorded on said recording medium; and, withreference to the management information pre-recorded on said recordingmedium, selecting and reproducing the content associated with thecapability information file that is searched for.
 23. The contentreproducing apparatus as set forth in claim 20, wherein: said capabilityinformation recording means records as the capability information in thecapability information file, a type of said content reproducingapparatus.
 24. The content reproducing apparatus as set forth in claim20, further comprising: reproducibility judgment means for judgingwhether or not a content pre-recorded on said recording medium isreproducible by said content reproducing apparatus, said capabilityinformation recording means recording to the capability informationfile, a judgment result obtained by said reproducibility judgment meansas the capability information of said content reproducing apparatus. 25.A content recording apparatus for accessing a recording medium andrecording a content on the recording medium, comprising: file managementmeans for, in accordance with management information pre-recorded onsaid recording medium, searching for a plurality of capabilityinformation files pre-recorded on said recording medium; capabilityinformation selecting means for selecting one of the plurality ofcapability information files; capability information reading out meansfor reading out from the selected one of the plurality of capabilityinformation files, capability information regarding a contentreproducing capability of a content reproducing apparatus that recordedthe selected one of the plurality of capability information files; andparameter setting means for setting a parameter to be used by saidcontent recording apparatus in recording the content, said contentrecording apparatus creating only a content that does not exceed thecontent reproducing capability of said content reproducing apparatus.26. The content recording apparatus as set forth in claim 25, wherein:said file management means records on said recording medium inaccordance with the management information pre-recorded on saidrecording medium, the content created by said content recordingapparatus so as to be associated with the one of the plurality ofcapability information files that is selected by said capabilityinformation selecting means.
 27. The content recording apparatus as setforth in claim 25, wherein: said capability information selecting meansreads out content reproducing apparatus types respectively from theplurality of capability information files that are searched for by saidfile management means, and selects the one of the plurality ofcapability information files so as to correspond to the contentreproducing apparatus that is specified.
 28. A content re-codingapparatus for accessing a recording medium and re-coding a content,comprising: file management means for, in accordance with managementinformation pre-recorded on said recording medium, searching forcapability information files pre-recorded on said recording medium;capability information selecting means for selecting one of thecapability information files; capability information reading out meansfor reading out from the selected one of the capability informationfiles, capability information regarding a content reproducing capabilityof a content reproducing apparatus; and parameter setting means forsetting a parameter to be used by said recording apparatus in recordingthe content, said content re-coding apparatus creating only a contentthat does not exceed the content reproducing capability of said contentreproducing apparatus that recorded the selected one of the capabilityinformation files.
 29. The content re-coding apparatus as set forth inclaim 28, wherein: said content re-coding apparatus reads out judgmentresults as to content reproducibility respectively from the capabilityinformation files pre-recorded on said recording medium; and selects asa content to be re-coded from contents pre-recorded on said recordingmedium, a content that is not reproducible by said content reproducingapparatus that recorded the selected one of the capability informationfiles.